Sunday, 22 July 2018

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "'Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written. "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines."'" Mark 7:6,7 (NRSV)

Thursday, 19 July 2018

Jesus said, "'love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.'" Luke 6:35 (NRSV)

If God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked then how can there be a hell?

"'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.'" Matthew 5:44,45 (NRSV)

If God sends light and rain to evil people how can we say He will punish them in hell forever?

To be children of God is to be like God.

And Jesus says that God does not punish evil people.

Rather He loves them and helps them.

So we need not fear hell.

If God helps evil people how much more will He help those who love Him.

Monday, 9 July 2018

Modern scholars have said that the word eunuch was used in the ancient world to describe any man who could not have children.

This was said to include men with a homosexual orientation.

This is quite important because the only possible reference to homosexual men that is attributed to Jesus uses the word eunuch.

In the context of speaking about men who do not marry Jesus said, "'For their are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and their are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 19:12 (NRSV)

Now it is evident that Jesus was not merely talking about men who had been castrated because no one is castrated for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. This refers to voluntary celibacy.

So if we take the wider interpretation of the word eunuch to include homosexual men then Jesus is saying that some men are born homosexual.

This is important because St. Paul's objection to homosexual acts is based on the false premise that those who act in homosexual ways are perverting their natural God-given heterosexuality.

So Jesus' attitude is in line with our modern understanding of homosexuality. That some men are born with a homosexual orientation.

Therefore they are acting in a way that is perfectly natural and good to them.

If we can accept that homosexuality is a part of the diversity of God's good creation then there can be no further objections to homosexuality in religion on moral grounds.